2017 Affordable Care Act replacement proposals
The following is a list of plans which were considered to replace the Affordable Care Act (commonly referred to as the ACA or Obamacare) during the Donald Trump administration. The plans were considered as a result of the Republican Party's gains in the 2016 US elections. "Repeal and replace" has been a Republican slogan since March 2010 when the ACA was signed into law and has been adopted by President Donald Trump.[1]
President Donald Trump and many Republicans have vowed to repeal and replace Obamacare; President Trump signed an executive order on January 20, 2017, his first day in office, that according to White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer would "ease the burden of Obamacare as we transition from repeal and replace". Spicer would not elaborate further when asked for more details.[2][3][4]
On January 12, 2017, the Senate voted 51 to 48 to pass an FY2017 budget resolution, S.Con.Res. 3, that contained language allowing the repeal of the Affordable Care Act through the budget reconciliation process, which disallows a filibuster in the Senate.[5][6][7][8][9] In spite of efforts during the vote-a-rama (a proceeding in which each amendment was considered and voted upon for about 10 minutes each until all 160 were completed) that continued into the early hours of the morning, Democrats could not prevent "the GOP from following through on its repeal plans."[7][10]
Several media outlets have reported widespread opposition in Congress and the American public against repealing the Affordable Care Act without replacing it. Barack Obama has stated that "The Republicans will own the problems with the health care system if they choose to repeal something that is providing health insurance to a lot of people".[11]
According to obamacarefacts.com, a website supportive of the Affordable Care Act, the proposed CARE Act reverts many of the benefits of the Affordable Care Act.[12]
Senator Rand Paul has said he plans to introduce a replacement plan during the week of January 9, 2017.[13] One key provision in his coming plan is to offer cheaper, less robust insurance plans for people.[14]
